Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast officially unveiled the Multiverse Reforged precon for Reality Fracture. As a Polymorph deck, this precon threw many players through a loop at first, especially since the top end looked wack. While there were some very exciting cards, it felt like many were better suited to decks specifically built around them.
With this in mind, it’s little wonder that MTG players haven’t hesitated to do just that and start brewing. As a result, we’re already seeing intense price spikes as less-played support pieces suddenly become in demand. This is exactly what has happened to Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, a practically forgotten Sphinx Typal card from Hour of Devastation.
MTG Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
While it’s not all bad, it’s easy to see why Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign doesn’t see much play in Commander. For better or worse, this is just a Sphinx Typal card, albeit a pretty effective one. After all, Unesh not only makes your Sphinxes cheaper, but you also get card selection when you play them.
Sadly, while potentially helpful, since an opponent interacts with what cards you get, you’ll never get maximum value. Still, if your deck is filled with enough high-power threats, or other Sphinxes, your opponents won’t have much choice. As much as this means Unesh can prove powerful, it’s long been lacking a viable home.
In Commander, Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign is, or rather was, the only Sphinx that cares about other Sphinxes. Since many of the best Sphinxes sit outside of its mono-blue color identity, too, this typal deck has always been rather awkward. Now, however, Unesh finally has a home thanks to
The Ur-Sphinx
The Ur-Sphinx
Eminence — As long as The Ur-Sphinx is in the command zone or on the battlefield, other Sphinx spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Flying
Whenever one or more Sphinxes you control attack, each player mills that many cards. For each player, you may cast a card that player milled this way without paying its mana cost.
from the Multiverse Reforged precon.
Much like
The Ur-Dragon
The Ur-Dragon
Eminence — As long as The Ur-Dragon is in the command zone or on the battlefield, other Dragon spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Flying
Whenever one or more Dragons you control attack, draw that many cards, then you may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield.
, this new legend provides compelling cost reduction via its Eminence ability, and wants as many Sphinxes in play as possible. By going wide with this type, you get more and more Mill when you hit an opponent, which can be devastating. As if that wasn’t enough, you also get to steal one of the cards you mill over, making The Ur-Sphinx an insane threat.
Thanks to this new Commander’s power, it’s little wonder that many Sphinx cards are currently spiking in price. Given the natural cost reduction and Sphinx-playing synergy between The Ur-Sphinx and Unesh, it’s no wonder this card has spiked the hardest.
The Spike
Since Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign has never seen much play in Commander, it’s always been quite cheap. On TCGplayer, for instance, near-mint copies averaged $1.22 just yesterday. Curiously, these prices have been slowly ticking up for a while, as Unesh used to be worth under $1.
Sadly, these budget-friendly price points are now long gone, as following The Ur-Sphinx’s reveal, there have been over 220 near-mint sales. Given Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign has only ever been printed in Hour of Devastation as a mythic, this sales spike has put a huge dent in supply. Now, TCGplayer has only 21 listings of Unesh, regardless of condition.
Thanks to this low supply, a near-mint copy of Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign will currently set you back $19.95. This marks a staggering 1,535% price spike in just one day, and in theory it might not stop there. With prices tending to increase as supply sells, it’s not unreasonable to think Unesh could hit $25.
Unfortunately, if you’re still in the market for a copy of Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, any budget copies have long since been bought up. Right now, the cheapest you’ll find Unesh is $19.57 for a lightly played copy, which isn’t much of a saving. While this is bad news for anyone looking to build around The Ur-Sphinx, it might not all be bad news looking ahead.
A Brief Jump?
While we sadly can’t predict the future here at MTG Rocks, Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign doesn’t look so stable. As much as this card has its uses, it seems very unlikely that Sphinx Typal will completely overtake Commander. Don’t get me wrong, The Ur-Sphinx is a very powerful card, but its long-term potential seems rather dubious.
Unlike Dragons, Sphinxes rarely get much support, and it’s even rarer for that support to be typal-oriented. Due to this, The Ur-Sphinx may go a long time without new cards, leading to interest waning over time. If this happens as expected, then the price of Unesh should fall as sales will slow dramatically.
As much as this seems like the likeliest outcome given the printing rate of Sphinxes, nothing is set in stone. The sheer strength of The Ur-Sphinx could make it a fan-favorite Commander that sees widespread play for a long time. If that happens, the best support pieces will likely stay expensive for a decent while.
Ultimately, while we’re not too hot on Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, the future of MTG is nothing if not uncertain. As such, we can only really wait and see what happens in the near future.
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